August 25, Sunday
With the sun shining brightly, Saturday was a perfect day for a hike. As we left the marina, we were joined by Kelly and Rob from the M/V Andromeda II, making the day even more enjoyable. Our adventure took us along the Big Cedar Trail, which rises about 200 feet through a forest of trees around 90 years old. The highlight of our walk was encountering a gigantic cedar tree, estimated to be at least 800 years old. This Big Cedar was truly massive, with its vertical bark and broad roots creating an impressive sight. We couldn’t resist posing for photos in front of the mighty trunk, where we looked and felt like tiny specks next to the towering tree.
Today started off leisurely, as we had planned to make the Seymour Narrows passage around 4:30 PM. To ensure we arrived on time, we set off at about 11:00 AM. Despite the weather forecast predicting rain, we were fortunate to only have cloudy skies throughout our journey. The absence of rain made for a pleasant trip, and we are now at Discovery Bay Marina, Campbell River, BC. The last time we were in Campbell River, we were planning our northbound trip through Seymour Narrows; tonight, we have just completed our southbound trip. In researching this stretch of water, we found a fascinating YouTube video about Ripple Rock.
Ripple Rock was an infamous underwater mountain located in the Seymour Narrows. Boat traffic had to navigate around the two peaks of Ripple Rock that were just below the surface at low tide, creating dangerous eddies and whirlpools that posed a significant hazard to navigation. The rock was responsible for numerous shipwrecks and the loss of at least 114 lives. The solution to this problem was a major engineering feat that led to one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.
What Captain George Vancouver described as “one of the vilest stretches of water in the world” had now been significantly improved. If you have 8 minutes to spare, I think you will find the solution fascinating. Check out the video on Ripple Rock.
We met the crew of Norista while at Blind Channel Resort. This is one of the first Grand Banks built using fiberglass (1973), and they are the original owners. What a beautiful boat! We are both just starting Seymour Narrows.
